Cypel faults Israeli need for superiority

In a lecture in Robertson Hall yesterday titled “Israel-Palestine: Why Today’s Crisis is Rooted in the Denials of Yesterday,” Cypel said it was in Israel’s best interest to allow Palestinians to establish their own state. The Israelis’ desire to “maintain a relationship of domination” over the Palestinians, he said, has led the Israelis to use force to prevent the formation of a Palestinian state.

Cypel is the author of the 2006 book “Walled: Israeli Society at an Impasse.”

“[Israelis] are convinced that force can solve any problem, in any circumstance,” said Cypel, who is Jewish and has lived in Israel for 12 years.

Israelis “live in fear ... [of] what will happen the day … [they] don’t have superiority on the opponent,” he explained, adding that Israelis believe that “if there is parity and no superiority, then we’re lost.”

Cypel noted that the Israeli fear of parity with Palestine could be deemed “irrational” because Israel is stronger than its enemy, but that this fear is a “cultural and psychological reality.” Therefore, he explained, Israelis continually perpetuate negative images of Palestinians to justify their need to use force.

Since Israel is diplomatically and militarily superior to Palestine and is a semi-westernized, developed country, it is not afraid to use force, Cypel said, adding that Israel’s “force mentality” is also its biggest weakness because such a mentality forces the country’s citizens to live in constant fear.

Cypel also expressed concern for the future of Palestine in his lecture. “I worry very, very much for the next generation [because] … the Palestinians … are [already] smashed today,” he said, noting that the Palestinians’ “condition of life is [currently] unbelievable and terrible.”

Cypel said that political authorities in Washington, D.C., have a very strong influence on the outcome of the conflict.

“Washington is the master of the game. … Today, Washington has all the cards. Some know perfectly well where this is going and what will happen,” he said.

Anthropology professor Abdellah Hammoudi, a longtime friend of Cypel’s, found the lecture to be “very to the point and enlightening.”

“[Cypel] had the knowledge and skills to say something new that we don’t hear often with very concrete examples and depth,” he said.

Cypel became editor-in-chief of Le Monde in 1998. Prior to that, he was the editor-in-chief of Courrier International.